Macron: Russia, Turkey are playing on post-colonial resentments

In a wide-ranging interview, French president accuses Ankara and Moscow of stirring up anti-French sentiment in Africa.

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia and Turkey of spreading anti-French sentiment in Africa by funding individuals stirring up resentment in opposition to France within the media.

“We should not be naive on this topic: lots of those that communicate, who make movies, who’re current within the French-speaking media are funded by Russia or Turkey,” Macron mentioned on Friday in an interview with the Jeune Afrique journal, whereas accusing Moscow and Ankara of making an attempt “to play on post-colonial resentment”.

He additionally mentioned Turkey was contributing to misunderstandings over his defence of the fitting to attract caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The feedback referred to the brutal killing final month of a French trainer who was beheaded in broad daylight after exhibiting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad throughout a category on freedom of expression. Any type of visible depiction of the prophet is forbidden in Islam.

The killing additional exacerbated already strained relations between Macron and the Muslim world, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggesting the French president bear “psychological checks” after Macron had described Islam as a faith “in disaster globally”.

Macron mentioned: “After I determined to assault radical Islam … my phrases had been distorted. By the Muslim Brotherhood, fairly extensively, but in addition by Turkey, which has the flexibility to affect a number of public opinion, together with in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Reiterating a place that has brought about immense controversy in France and past over the previous months, he added: “I’m not attacking Islam, I’m attacking Islamist terrorism.”

Growing tensions

Tensions between France and Turkey have risen to new ranges over a variety of disputes in latest months, together with Syria, Libya, the japanese Mediterranean and now France’s crackdown on “radical Islam”.

France has referred to as for a complete rethink of the European Union’s relations with Turkey, which underneath Erdogan lately has considerably constructed up its presence and affect in Africa.

Russia has additionally performed an more and more lively position in Africa, with analysts pointing to the presence in a number of nations of the pro-Kremlin mercenary group Wagner.

Within the wide-ranging interview, Macron additionally dominated out negotiating with armed teams within the Sahel area of Africa, the place France has a thousands-strong pressure deployed.

“We don’t discuss with terrorists. We struggle,” Macron mentioned, as debates intensify in France and Africa over the long-term technique of its Operation Barkhane navy pressure.

He mentioned that France might discuss to completely different political and different teams, however not armed teams “which proceed to kill civilians and troopers, together with our troopers”.

Macron on Guinea

Macron additionally accused Guinea’s President Alpha Conde of organising a referendum on constitutional adjustments “solely to have the ability to hold energy,” including that the scenario within the nation was “critical” following post-election unrest.

“It is because of this that I’ve nonetheless not despatched him a letter of congratulations,” Macron mentioned.

Macron added he hoped to go to Rwanda in 2021 regardless of continued tensions with the nation and its President Paul Kagame over the 1994 genocide.